Gillispie Signs 7-Year Deal

LEXINGTON, Ky. – On Friday, April 6, 2007 the University of Kentucky named Billy Gillispie the 21st head coach in UK basketball history.

Gillispie agreed to a seven-year contract with the financial terms of the deal to be released at a later date.

“Billy Gillispie has all the qualities we were looking for in Kentucky’s next head coach,” said University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart. “He is a tireless worker, a great recruiter and is passionate about winning and winning the right way. He will make the Commonwealth proud both as a coach and a person.”

“As a lifelong University of Kentucky fan, I am excited what Billy Gillispie will bring to this program – an unmatched work ethic and exciting style of play,” said UK President Lee T. Todd, Jr. “We all understand Kentucky fans expect to win, but I'm confident we have a coach who also shares Mitch Barnhart and my philosophy of winning the right way – with a clean program run with integrity.”

In just three seasons at Texas A&M, the three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year engineered one of the most amazing turnarounds in college basketball history, leading ESPN’s Steve Lavin, among others, to christen him a “miracle worker.”

In the 2006-07 season, Gillispie, who was a finalist for the 2007 Naismith National Coach of the Year and Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year, led the Aggies to a school record 27-7 record which included a school best No. 3 seed in the NCAA’s, in which they advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1980.

In addition to leading the Aggies to a final No. 9 ranking in 2007, he led A&M to a top 10 ranking in both polls for 11 straight weeks. Before the 2007 season, the last time A&M was ranked in the top 10 in either poll was Jan. 3, 1979, when the Aggies were ranked 10th by the AP. The only other time A&M was ranked in the top 10 was a four-week run in the AP poll in 1959-60. That team was ranked No. 8 one week and 10th the following three weeks.

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